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A Snapshot of Thyroid Cancer

Incidence and Mortality

Thyroid cancer is the ninth most common cancer in the United States. In 2014, it is estimated that nearly 63,000 Americans will be diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and nearly 1,900 will die of the disease. The overall incidence of thyroid cancer in the United States has increased in people of all racial/ethnic groups and in both males and females over the past several decades.

The incidence of thyroid cancer is increasing more rapidly than that of any other cancer in the United States. Some, although not all, of this increase can be explained by improved detection methods. Thyroid cancer incidence rates vary by both sex and race, with incidence being nearly three times higher in women than in men and nearly twice as high in whites as in African Americans. After whites, Asians/Pacific islanders have the second highest incidence. Overall mortality rates remain low despite rising an average of 0.8% annually from 2002-2011.

Selected Advances in Thyroid Cancer Research

Source: NCI Funded Research Portfolio. Only projects with assigned common scientific outline area codes are included. A description of relevant research projects can be found on the NCI Funded Research Portfolio Web site.

Mutations in the region of the telomerase gene that controls its expression were found in various types of thyroid cancers and were most prevalent in aggressive thyroid cancers, suggesting that these mutations may be involved in thyroid tumorigenesis, thyroid cancer progression, and thyroid cancer aggressiveness. Published August 2013. [PubMed Abstract]

Fusion oncogenes were identified in most of the 26 thyroid cancer samples obtained from patients exposed to ionizing radiation during childhood due to the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Published October 2013. [PubMed Abstract]

Trends in NCI Funding for Thyroid Cancer Research

NCI’s investment1 in thyroid cancer research was $19.6 million in fiscal year (FY) 2013. In addition to the funding described in the graph, NCI supported $3.4 million in thyroid cancer research in FYs 2009 and 2010 using funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Additional Resources for Thyroid Cancer

NCI Thyroid Cancer Home PageInformation about thyroid cancer treatment, clinical trials, research, and other topics from the National Cancer Institute.

Accidents at Nuclear Power Plants and Cancer RiskA fact sheet about cancer risks associated with accidents at nuclear power plants. Includes information for cancer patients who live in an area that may be affected by a nuclear power plant accident. Also contains links to information about NCI-supported research on ionizing radiation and cancer risk.

1 The estimated NCI investment is based on funding associated with a broad range of peer-reviewed scientific activities. For additional information on research planning and budgeting at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), see About NIH.